"On Dreams" by Aristotle

Written in 350 BC



From this it is manifest that the stimulatory movements based upon

sensory impressions, whether the latter are derived from external

objects or from causes within the body, present themselves not only

when persons are awake, but also then, when this affection which is

called sleep has come upon them, with even greater impressiveness. For

by day, while the senses and the intellect are working together,

they (i.e. such movements) are extruded from consciousness or

obscured, just as a smaller is beside a larger fire, or as small

beside great pains or pleasures, though, as soon as the latter have

ceased, even those which are trifling emerge into notice. But by night

[i.e. in sleep] owing to the inaction of the particular senses, and

their powerlessness to realize themselves, which arises from the

reflux of the hot from the exterior parts to the interior, they

[i.e. the above 'movements'] are borne in to the head quarters of

sense-perception, and there display themselves as the disturbance

(of waking life) subsides.

lucid dreaming:

Accordingly, just as if a finger be inserted beneath the

eyeball without being observed, one object will not only present two

visual images, but will create an opinion of its being two objects;

while if it [the finger] be observed, the presentation will be the

same, but the same opinion will not be formed of it; exactly so it

is in states of sleep: if the sleeper perceives that he is asleep, and

is conscious of the sleeping state during which the perception comes

before his mind, it presents itself still, but something within him

speaks to this effect: 'the image of Koriskos presents itself, but the

real Koriskos is not present'; for often, when one is asleep, there is

something in consciousness which declares that what then presents

itself is but a dream. If, however, he is not aware of being asleep,

there is nothing which will contradict the testimony of the bare

presentation.

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Aristotle has an interesting interpretation of dreams. He says that they are akin to the perception we have when looking at a bright light, and then looking away. A residual image remains because of how our brain dealt with the stimulus of that light. Or a man that is in love "amorous desire" or that is fearful. The Amorous man will see the face of his desire in many faces, and the fearful man will see the object of his fear in many objects, until further sensory data confirms otherwise. Our brain is under the influence of an emotion and is tuned to look for these things. When we dream, we see a residual of this brain state. We see the face of our love, and with no sensory data to contradict it, we then interact with it. Maybe it is perhaps what the brain "expects" to find in the world.

The second interesting thing I found in this essay was Aristotle's apparent knowledge and experience with lucid dreams. He talks about how once we become aware that the dream is in fact a dream and not reality, it changes our perception of that dream. Much in the same way that if pressure is applied to our eyeball we see two images, but knowing this, we do not incorrectly assume that we are looking at two object - we know we are merely seeing a double-image of one object.

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